Newsmakers

This Dog Has Her Day in Vegas After Stormy Florida

--Minnie is back home after an unscheduled visit to Las Vegas and her owners are delighted. The 8-year-old dog disappeared four months ago during a Florida thunderstorm, and Diane and Dick Long of Daytona Beach had about given up hope of finding her. "It's absolutely amazing," Diane Long said. "My husband loves that dog more than anything in the world. We can't believe she's safe." Las Vegas animal control officers found the dog wandering in a casino parking lot and used information on her tags to find the Longs. "I was absolutely dumbfounded when I got the call," Diane Long said. "We really thought we would never see her again." The Longs took in Minnie six years ago after neighbors complained that the stray dog was eating from garbage cans. "She's not a show dog, but she's smart," Dick Long said. "That's right," added his wife. "She's been to Las Vegas and we're still at home."

--Retired Army Gen. William C. Westmoreland, who commanded American forces in Vietnam, led a contingent of Vietnam veterans for 10 miles of their 300-mile march across Texas to increase public awareness of the POW-MIA issue. "I feel very much at home," Westmoreland said in Austin. "These are my guys. It's a big thrill and a big honor to be here." Asked if he believes U.S. servicemen are being held prisoner in Vietnam, Westmoreland said: "It's quite likely that there are some, but we don't know how many. There is circumstantial evidence that they are there."

--President Reagan and his wife, Nancy, got a private tour of "The Treasure Houses of Britain," an opulent museum display of furnishings from English estates and castles. "It's beautiful," pronounced Mrs. Reagan, and the President responded, "Yes." The exhibit at the National Gallery of Art opens to the public on Sunday.

--Advertisements on display throughout London's subway system asserting that a manufacturer's blue jeans are "tougher than living in Pratt's Bottom" have upset the member of Parliament who represents the southeast England village. Conservative Party lawmaker John Hunt said in a letter sent to Lois Jeans that he resented the inference that "life in Pratt's Bottom is somewhat rough and substandard. I hope, therefore, you will be able to make a suitable apology to my constituents, either by the withdrawal of the offending poster or, alternatively, the donation of a complimentary pair of your jeans to each villager, and, of course, to their local member of Parliament." Lois Jeans had no immediate response.